Press Releases

UNIS/L/127
17 February 2009

Armenia Accedes to United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG)

73rd Country to Become Party to the Convention

VIENNA, 17 February (UN Information Service) - With its accession to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), Armenia becomes the 73rd State Party to the Convention. The Convention will enter into force for Armenia on 1 January 2010.

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods provides an equitable and modern uniform framework for the contract of sale, which is the backbone of international trade in all countries, irrespective of their legal tradition or level of economic development. The CISG is therefore considered to be one of the core conventions in international trade law.

The Convention, which has been adopted by a large number of major trading countries, establishes a comprehensive code of legal rules governing the formation of contracts for the international sale of goods, the obligations of the buyer and seller, remedies for breach of contract and other aspects of the contract. Further information on the CISG is available on the UNCITRAL website.

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The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. Its mandate is to remove legal obstacles to international trade by progressively modernizing and harmonizing trade law. It prepares legal texts in a number of key areas such as international commercial dispute settlement, electronic commerce, insolvency, international payments, sale of goods, transport law, procurement and infrastructure development. UNCITRAL also provides technical assistance to law reform activities, including assisting Member States to review and assess their law reform needs and to draft the legislation required to implement UNCITRAL texts. The UNCITRAL Secretariat is located in Vienna, Austria, and maintains a website at
www.uncitral.org.